Drinking straw are ubiquitous and provide many advantages to persons who for reasons of age or infirmity are unable to hold or properly tip a cup or glass so as to drink the contents thereof. However, there are also well known safety issues with the well-known, widely used drinking straws of the prior art. For example, mass-produce, disposable straws may have relatively sharp edges that may inflict injury to the mouth of a user. The sharp edges are the result of a common mass production technique wherein long lengths of hollow straw stock are cut to length using cutting implements such as razor blades or the like. The cutting process often leaves sharp edges at one or both of the upper and lower ends of the straw.
Another problem present in conventional drinking straws of the prior art is that their narrow diameter allows easy insertion of the straw deeply into the mouth of an infant or toddler possibly causing choking or injury to sensitive inner portions of the mouth or throat.
The relatively large diameter of a typical prior art drinking straw may also allow the ingestion of an excessive amount of fluid by an infant or toddler.
Straws of the prior art may be difficult for a young child or other persons having certain disabilities to grasp and manipulate. The thin, tubular cross-section does not readily lend itself to controlled grasping by, for example, a young child with undeveloped small motor skills.
Conventional drinking straws also allow ingestion of small objects, for example seeds, that may be present in the liquid being consumed through the straw. Such objects can also cause choking when caught in a person's throat.